To The Bitter End
by sghope16
Summary: Foxface is undoubtedly a mysterious character. In this story, all her mysteries are solved and displayed, revealing of a clever, distrustful young girl. She has a strategy and reason for every move she makes, and a good one at that. And every move means literally everything she does...
1. Reaping

**Hi, everyone! This is technically my second fanfic, but my first is… Ugh. I have to get around to deleting it, I was around 13 when I wrote it and I was terrible then. I hope I'm better now, and I think this is a good idea. I know this idea has already been done, but hear me out. It'll get different. I considered making it a one-shot, but I wanted more detail. I know the Spanish is a bit strange, but it will make sense later. I hope you guys like it, constructive criticism (or even flames, if you must) are more than welcome. Thanks for reading!**

I trudge out of my room, groggily rubbing my eyes with the backs of my hands. My mom is standing at the stove, cooking tesserae grain for breakfast. She turns and beams at me, doing her best to hide the fear in her eyes. I'm 17 this year, on reaping day. I have an awful lot of strips in the reaping balls, but I choose to ignore that fact.

"Buenos días, Aurora, ¿cómo estás?" my mother greets me.

"Inglés, mama. Inglés ahora," I mutter, too scared that we would be caught and possibly punished. We are speaking an ancient language called Spanish. A long, long time ago my family was what's called Hispanic. As changes started, my family continued to pass along the language and how we know it, even as non-Hispanic people married into the family to the point where I have the pale skin and red hair that has earned me the nickname "Foxy" by my friends, I can still speak this long lost language fluently. My mom and I have no idea if it's legal for us to know it, much less use it regularly. But I refuse to take the chance on such an important day.

"Fine, how are you doing today, sweetie? Did you sleep well?" My mother asks, seeming very earnest.

"As well as I could, given the circumstances. I'm doing fine, how are you?" I reply.

"Fine, fine. Come, eat breakfast, child," Mom ushers me over to the chair. I eat my breakfast and head upstairs to get dressed. I decide on my emerald green dress with sleeves going just past my elbows that hugs my figure. It's the only nice dress I own; my mom saved a long time then bought the cloth to sew it for me. We're very poor, since my dad died when I was very young. My mom works as a seamstress. She hates the factories and makes a good enough living with her sewing. By the time I'm done brushing my hair out, it's time to head down to the reaping.

* * *

"Oh. My. God. Look at you!" My best friend, Katy, exclaims. She's never seen this dress before, and it's clearly a shock. I suppress a smirk; I am, in fact, capable of looking pretty when I'm not wearing cheap, worn denim jeans and t-shirts. With my long, long red hair and amber eyes, I'm actually quite attractive.

"You're one to talk! Your dress is amazing, Kates," She's decked out in a sky blue number, tied at the waist with a white ribbon and a matching one tying her shoulder length black hair black. She's the only person I've ever met with black hair and blue eyes and pale skin, all in one person. It's a bit shocking, and combined with my (literally) foxy looks, we're known as "the freaks" by most people.

We walk over, sign in, and head to our spots in the 17 year old pen. We chat about anything we can think of. Her attempts at selling her artwork, my still perfect grades and the possibility of being the valedictorian and potentially making some money someday. Obviously I have a job at one of the factories, but I don't make scratch, really. That might change when people realized how amazing my memory is and how clever I really am. We'll have to see.

We sit through the usual Hunger Game boredom. The speeches, the video, the bouncy escort. Katy rolls her eyes at me, but I see the terror underneath the façade. The it comes: the actual reaping.

"Ladies first!" the escort, whose name I've never paid attention to, chirps brightly. All escorts say this, I believe they're required to.

_Anyone but Katy, please just anyone but Katy _I begsome higher being that I don't believe in. I couldn't tolerate life without my best friend.

"Aurora Goldleaf!" Well, I suppose I did say anyone. Katy's eyes grow huge, and she opens her mouth to volunteer. I clamp my hand over it before she can.

"I have a better shot, of the two of us," I hiss before walking toward the restless peacekeepers. I turn around to see her nod, determined to be strong but still allowing tears to trickle down her flushed cheeks. I turn and look straight ahead, no emotion on my face whatsoever. The rest of the reaping is a blur; I'm already thinking strategy, of my strengths and weaknesses. I can just barely hear some kids in the crowd whisper: "Foxy, look it's Foxy. She stands a chance, maybe we'll have a victor for once." This gives me a new confidence. I square my shoulders and coolly look out at the crowd, allowing my eyes to have the calculated look that makes me look smart and almost dangerous. Let the Games begin.


	2. Justice Building

The male tribute and I are led to the Justice Building, as are all tributes. Our escort is blabbing on about what a "great opportunity" this is and how "lucky and privileged" we are. The male seems shell shocked. I start listing off symptoms of PTSD in my head that I know from a book on psychological illnesses I had found. I can't tell yet, but if he doesn't have it yet I feel sure he will. I switch my thoughts to strategy. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do in the arena. I know that fighting won't be a good route to take. I've never been in a fight in my life, and have no experience with weapons. I need to find an alternative.

We finally reach the Justice Building. I realize I don't know my escort or district partner's name. These are things that may become important to learn. I tuck that into the back of my head, deciding it's not important right now. I have to brace myself for the goodbyes. Just as I choose what to say, my mom bursts into the room, sobbing. I quickly take her into my arms, still stoic. I haven't cried since I was 4, and I don't plan to now. Mama's stuttering, as she always does when she's upset or nervous. I can tell she's making an effort not to lapse into Spanish.

"Y-y-you're very inteligen-intelligent. Yo- I kn-know you c-can win this. F-fo-for me, por-please!" she finally manages to get out before the sobs overtake her once again. I'm hoping the peacekeeper mistook her Spanish slip-ups for her being upset. Vast majority of the conversations she has with me are in Spanish.

"I promise, I will try my hardest to win. I'm clever and agile, I stand a chance. Now listen to me: There is still the chance that I won't make it back. You and I are not the same size in clothes, but Katy and I are. Let her take what she likes and give the rest away, or sell it if you can. Same goes for jewelry, what little I have, except you take what you want first. I don't have much of anything else. I have a diary though. Don't read it until I'm dead, but if I die please do read it and let Katy read it. Please," I give her my last instructions as quickly as I can. My mama, my sweet, innocent mama, just nods. She still can't speak. I hold her the rest of the time, singing a Spanish song quietly so the peacekeepers can't hear. This seems to calm her down a bit. All too soon our time is up. My mother stands and walks out, not saying goodbye to me. I feel an object in my hand. It's a small note with a tiny, tiny sewn doll on a ribbon, to be a necklace. I quickly read the aged looking note, which is thankfully in English.

Aurora,

I didn't say goodbye because I expect to see you again, and rather soon. This is a doll necklace I made out of scraps just before you turned 12. It has been reserved, held in my drawers aside from reaping day, as your token should you get reaped. This note is just as old. Don't think of me in the arena. You're not a killer, but you're a survivor. You're sly and clever. You can win by elusion, not by killing. I know you can do this. I have faith in you, child.

Love,

Your mama

Before I have time to process this, I am nearly knocked off my feet. I manage to catch and steady the assailant, which turns out to be a very soggy weeping Katy. After telling me how stupid I was for not letting her volunteer, how brave I was for not letting her volunteer, and blabbing about how unfair it all was for about a minute, she's finally spent. I quickly tell her similar instructions to what I told my mom, adding her new responsibility of feeding the rabbit I had befriended and named Fluffers. She nods solemnly. Then I hug her tightly, telling her how much I love her. All of a sudden, she throws me off and starts playing with my hair, but with purpose.

"Katy what are you-"I'm quickly cut off by her.

"Hush now, let me concentrate," she admonishes. Hidden pockets in her dress hold hair ties and pins. She came prepared. She asks the peacekeeper for 3 extra minutes, saying nobody else would be in here for me, yet she had seen several more groups waiting for the male. I glare at her then allow myself to look sad. Katy has a guilty look in her eyes, which I feel bad for, but my guard seems to feel some sympathy towards me for my lack of loved ones which I am clearly "upset" about, exactly what I was going for. He grants Katy as much time as the other boy has with loved ones, and even lets my mom back in. he pushes us into a corner so we can't readily be seen, and nobody questions it. Katy continues to fix my hair, her hands flying. After 2 more minutes, she's finished, and even manages to find a mirror in the old room to show me. She had braided my hair and pinned them up in swirls next to and above my ears, but the swirls were more… for lack of a better word, pointed. They look a bit like animal ears.

Get it, cause everyone calls you Foxy? Fox ears?" she starts cracking up at her own genius through the tears that are still streaming down her face. My mom starts laughing next. I take one last look in the mirror at the ridiculous yet strangely adorable hair style and break down laughing as well. We soon become near hysterical, howling with laughter. The stress of the situation has clearly taken its toll. But then we hear a different, threatening sound. Someone barking orders, or maybe questions. My peacekeeper, previously seeming confused by our laughter, pales and looks terrified. He rushes over to us.

"They've heard you guys. Listen, I dragged you guys back in here and you don't know why, but you were scared so you managed to steal my gun and shoot me. The laughing they thought they heard was really hysterical sobbing. Understand?" He quickly whispers to us. We nod, not knowing what else to do. Saying it might prepare me a bit, he puts his gun in my hand and pulls the trigger himself. The bullet hits his head and he drops to the floor, lifeless. My mom and Katy stare wide-eyed and start sobbing again. It does sound an awful lot like our laughter earlier. As always, I remain tearless, even when the higher ups come in. Even as I tell them our excuse, which they believe without question, muttering about how he was always a bit off, not a real peacekeeper. They haul us all out of the room, after taking the gun away from me. I'm taken to the escort and my district partner and we all walk to the train station next door as if nothing had happened. I realize that I hadn't actually gotten to say goodbye to either mama or Katy, and I had already killed someone.

It hits me like a ton of bricks; the Hunger Games have truly begun.

**Ok, so there's the second chapter. I hope it was somewhat realistic. Normally I won't update this fast, but I got this idea and decided to run with it. As of now, I have no idea if my writing is any good. Soo, if someone would life to review and tell me, it would be super appreciated. I'm also probably going to focus on some stuff and not so much on others; I haven't entirely planned it all out yet. We'll see. Anyhow, thank you to whoever reads this!**


	3. Train, Part 1

I'm trying hard not to show it, but the train absolutely fascinates me. I'd watched trains go by the station before when I had some free time and was bored. I wanted to try and figure out how they worked. But this train is completely different. It's sleeker, faster, more extravagant. I have never seen anything like it. When we first walked in, there was a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The male tribute (whose name is Adam. I'm sure his parents thought they were being funny. Atom, Adam.) didn't even know what it was. I only knew from books. I read books endlessly, in almost all of my free time. I read about anything and everything. My favorites are survival books, the ones I have with pictures in them. I have no clue how my mom had gotten them, but I've read each of the three at least ten times. As a result, I believe I know just about everything about berries and trees and leaves. I know what to eat about how to purify water and where to best find shelter. I had found the only large tree in the district and learned to climb it, I'm hoping that I'll be able to climb any trees available in the arena.

I wander about the train, exploring all the rooms. I have two hours until I need to go to dinner, where I will officially meet my mentor and we will begin talking strategy. Or, I hope we will be talking strategy. I'm beyond anxious to get as much information out of them as possible. As I begin going over my plan for the umpteenth time, I enter probably the most amazing room I have ever seen. We have one of these at the school, but no where near this huge.

I have discovered the library.

I immediately rush in and start reading the spines. I'm disgusted at how many are about clothes and make up and general fashion. But I begin to find some useful ones. Ones about snares and traps. One I have never seen with food guides for the woods, with berries and plants I have never seen before. There's even one about edible bugs, which grosses me out a bit but I know that I would definitely resort to insects if I was desperate enough. There's a whole picture book dedicated to different types of easy to make shelters. I can't believe my luck. I have near photographic memory, as my teachers told me. I can easily memorize this information and use it in the arena. The arena is always some kind of natural area. I've seen desserts, mountain lands, countless woodlands. Once there was a winter land, most tributes froze to death that year. There are books on all of these climates and more. I spend the hour and a half I have left reading, and then some. It takes them another twenty minutes to find me in here, another five to pry the book out of my hands and drag me to the dining room. Once there, Escalanda (our escort) apologizes to Adam and a man and woman I know I have seen before, but don't know their names. They are introduced as Kander and Ina. Kander will be Adam's mentor, Ina mine. I nod at Ina, looking at her a bit suspiciously. Kander will have nothing to do with me in the arena, so I decide to ignore him. Ina is surprisingly short, I realize when she stands up, maybe 5'2". I'm pretty small at 5'4", but she's quite tiny. She's pretty thin too, but clearly strong. I can see the definition in the muscles in her arms, and I feel sure her legs are similar, but she's wearing long pants with her tank top. Her hair is so blonde it's almost white, but appears natural and is very short. Her dark brown eyes scrutinize me, trying to see what I'm made of. She shakes my hand firmly, nearly squeezing it. It's clear she doesn't trust me, doesn't think I have what it takes to win. I'm determined to prove her wrong.

"Let's get down to business. You're not any kind of fighter. You're tiny and scrawny, you'll be a toothpick to careers," She begins as soon as we sit down as far away from the boys as possible. She sneers at me. "I'm not sure what I'll do with you; you're not super pretty so sponsors are a lost cause. You're clearly bound to be hopeless in a fight. I doubt you're any kind of brain. Yup, I think you're already dead. Just try to stay away from the other tributes. Make an alliance with someone of worth. Maybe you'll survive the first five minutes. Maybe," She finally finishes, smirking at me and digging into her food. I narrow my eyes at her and glare, full force. My glare can be quite intimidating, years of practice keeping people off Katy and my backs from a distance. Ina looks at me with some interest.

"I'm on track to be valedictorian at my school, and already on a management track at my job in a factory at 17. I have a near photographic memory and have read countless survival books. I can manipulate people without even trying, and can act well enough to make people think whatever I want them to think about me. I'm quick and clever and can figure almost anything out. You're right, I'm not a fighter, but I could probably get the careers to turn on each other and kill each other for me, and I could certainly steal food from them. I can also climb trees and I'm nearly silent when I walk. Don't count me out," I finish my little speech and begin nibbling at my food. It's incredible, so I start eating more. I could do with extra weight in the arena. Ina stares at me, mouth nearly hanging open. I smirk and use my finger to close it. She shakes her head as though to clear it and looks at me differently, scrutinizing me but with new respect. I guess she doesn't get a lot of tributes who stand up to her.

"Cocky little one, aren't you? Well, we can at least work with this. Still not a fighter, so lay low. Stay under the radar. You know what that means?" I nod at her. "Good. Do that, steal what food you can. Try to avoid eating food not from sponsors or the Cornucopia, you never know if it's actually poisoned. There was one year where they poisoned literally everything in the arena, a lot of tributes were killed off fast from it. If you can, avoid that fate. If you don't have anything else, by all means eat the natural stuff. Things like berries and roots. You hunt?" I shake my head no. "Shame, but we can work around that. Take to the trees at much as possible. That gives you literally the upper hand. Alright, that's enough for tonight. Eat, as much as you can hold. It'll help you more than you realize," she finally quiets down and digs into her meal. I smile at her, realizing she'll be of some use to me, now that I proved my fight.

Maybe I do stand a chance in the Games.

**If you guys didn't get it before, the Games Ina was talking about was Haymitch's, the Quarter Quell. **


	4. Train, Part 2

As soon as I finish scarfing down my food, I scurry back to the library. It takes me less than two minutes, since I managed to memorize the route while they dragged me to the dining room. I take a minute to breathe in the scent of the books, appreciate the vast amount of knowledge held in this room. Then I practically dive into the chair I had claimed as my own, picking up the dog-eared book and picking up where I had left off. A book on the weaknesses of common weapons. Should I get myself into a scrap, this could be useful information. I submerge myself in the book, not coming up for air until Escalanda finds me and drags me to watch the reapings. I sullenly follow her, just wanting to return to my sanctuary in this Hell. Never the less, I sit next to Adam and watch as Escalanda turns on the TV. Ina and Kander saunter in just as the recap of the reapings begins. I take mental notes of the potential tributes. The ones from District 1 are certainly a threat, but I'm not overly impressed. The female, Glimmer, is too skinny, despite her most likely cushy upbringing. The male, Marvel, is actually on the small side. They are strong and well trained, but not as impressive as I had been expecting. District 2 is definitely a bigger threat. The female, Clove, is a rather big, strong looking girl, much more substantial than Glimmer. She has a wicked gleam in her eye; I certainly don't want to cross her. The male, Cato, is enormous. He thunders up to the stage to volunteer and state his name, which he does proudly, smirking and absorbing the applause like a sponge. Physically, he's clearly a major threat. And yet, something about him makes me wonder just how smart he is. Clearly the volunteering was planned, but he seems impulsive and maybe even stupid to me. Perhaps I'm just stereotyping due to his strength, but I decide to tuck this away in my head so I can study him during training. District 3 is no different than any other year. If anything, they're even scrawnier and more timid than usual. They don't appear to be a threat. District 4 is disappointing, two relatively small and unmemorable volunteers for a Career District. This confuses me; this must just be an off year for 4. None of the other tributes really stand out until 11. They're all small, scared kids who probably won't make it far. District 11, however, surprises me. The girl is only a tiny little 12 year old, not seeming to be much, and yet I do a double take. This mousy girl, Rue, has an intelligent look in her eye. She doesn't appear to be simple minded. And while she's skinny, if one looks closely they can see the definition in her tiny arms. She's also strong. I'm willing to bet most other tributes will write her off, but I won't underestimate her. I'm keeping an eye on this one. The male from 11 is another giant, even bigger than Cato. Thresh is gigantic, huge rippling muscles presumably from harvesting. He's stoic, stone faced and intimidating. I plan to stay away from him.

District 12 completely shocks me. Generally, district 12 tributes are emaciated poor kids who die off in the bloodbath. They never have a strong tribute, and volunteers are unheard of. However, when a small girl named Primrose Everdeen is reaped out of the 12 year olds, something completely unforeseen happens. A tall, clearly strong and well fed girl from the 16 year olds barrels toward Primrose, screaming "Prim! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" Everyone in the room sits up straight in shock. I scrutinize this girl, who identifies herself as Katniss Everdeen. Primrose's sister. She appears smart, and stands confidently and strongly. The muscles in her arms are well defined, if wiry. This girl does something, trains somehow or something. I don't know what it is, but one does not simply develop that kind of strength out of nowhere. The male tribute, Peeta, is nearly as surprising. A stocky, strong blonde kid from the 16 year olds, he's also strong and well fed. My guess is he's some kind of shop owner or something, maybe Katniss is too. Something bothers me about her though. I think it might be the look in her eye, but she has an intimidating appearance. Peeta appears softer, not such a hard look in his eye, and he's crying. The only ones who haven't cried were the Career volunteers, me, the District 11 tributes, and this Katniss girl. They shake hands and the program is over. I'm sitting there, mulling over this new information in my head when Escalanda claps her hands and says "Oh, how exciting! This is going to be a wonderful Games, I just know it! But for now, we have a big, big day tomorrow, so off to bed!"

Realizing how tired I am, I head off to my room without any argument, without even a word actually. I quickly strip, deciding to just sleep in my underwear. Only females are allowed in female rooms and male attendants in male rooms anyhow, so I really didn't care. I slid beneath the covers, exhausted, drifting easily into sleep.

* * *

_I'm running as quickly as I can through a dessert. I keep slipping on the sand, and I can feel myself dehydrating under the blistering sun. I've never_ _had sunburn before, but my skin is bright red and the small sacs of fluid on the surface bring a whole new meaning to the expression "blistering sun". I desperately want a rest but I know I'm being chased. I keep running and running, slipping, falling, unable to see my pursuer but knowing they're there. Just as I'm about to collapse, someone jumps out from behind a cactus and I feel a knife pierce my chest, a direct hit in my heart. I fall to the ground and feel my life drain away, everything fading to black as my murderer cackles evilly…_

I bolt upright in bed, making no noise. My bed is soaked in sweat and my heart is racing from my nightmare. I look at the clock, which reads 4 am. I groan, wishing I could have slept longer but not wanting to go back to sleep and risk reliving the nightmare. Instead, I hop out of bed and open some random drawers. They're stocked with clothes, all my size. I choose out some soft jeans and a green short sleeved shirt. I then walk into the bathroom, take out my hair style, and brush my hair and teeth. I notice something strange in the corner. It's a large box, like a closet, but no shelves. It's all tile, with a pipe thing coming out of it. But the pipe widens and has a cover with holes punched in it. There's a panel with buttons on it, so I press one. Water shoots out the holes, smelling of something sweet. We had it at dinner last night… Chocolate, it smells of chocolate. I put a hand under the water and it feels amazing. I take a closer look at the panel. The button I pressed has a brown rectangle with smaller squares in it. I remember that this is the chocolate setting. The warm water feels amazing, soothing my tense muscles and warming me up, washing away the sweat from my awful dream. I stand there for what feels like forever, then glance at the panel and get curious. I press a button with a picture of a pink bottle on it. Pink liquid squirts out the sides of the strange closet, out of spouts I hadn't seen before. It smells like wild flowers. The water turns unscented at the same time and rinses the pink stuff off. I decided that's enough of that and press the "off" button and step out. THere are no towels, but there's a metal square with a hand print on it on the wall in front of me. Warily, I put my hand where the print is. I feel a tingly feeling, then my hair floats down my back, dry and untangled. The rest of me is dry as well. Shocked, I dress myself and wander back into my room. I look through my drawers and play with a remote that lets me see all over the country, I think, out of the window. I spy on Capitol people, but there aren't very many out at 7 am. Instead I find a place somewhere were there's a beach. Birds fly about and the green-blue ocean laps at the sand. I find it very relaxing and watch it, listening to the sounds until Escalanda comes knocking for breakfast. She appears surprised when I immediately walk out, completely ready, but seems to choose to stay quiet and follows me to the dining room.

I sit next to Ina, again on the opposite end from the boys, and an attendant brings me a plate full of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, and all kinds of things. I start eating as Ina starts talking.

"Ok, today you'll meet your stylist. I can tell you now you'll probably hate them and what they do to you, but that doesn't matter. Just go along with it and let them have at you. The prep team's jobs will hurt you, and the stylist will make you look ridiculous. But the Capitol people love ridiculous, and that's who you're trying to please right now. Don't glare at them, don't make snarky or sarcastic remarks, and don't stay too silent. Be kind and friendly and put up with it. It's good for you in the long run. Capiche?" she finally finishes her little speech and I nod, eyes wide. This sounds a bit scary. "Good," she smirks at me. "Let's see how your little books prepare you for this."


	5. Remake Center

"Look at this hair! It's like… It's like fire! Or like… What's that fur, Celio? The one I wore to my birthday party last year?" babbles Adora, a part of my all-too-bouncy prep trio, as she mixes something a bit smelly in a small glass bowl. She's about my height, with black hair in a pixie cut, dyed red along the fringe of her bangs. She seems to have some kind of covering over her eye balls, nobody's are naturally that shade of purple, and wears fake eye lashes. She has red flame tattoos on her chest and neck, with gold gems inlaid in her skin. Her nails are painted metallic orange and gold. Her dress is strapless, made of dark blood red satin, and has black gauzy material floating over the red. It's interesting, to say the least.

"Fox. Fox is what you're thinking of. Oh, we can do such great things with it, look at how looong it is!" gushes Celio while scrubbing my body with a brush, getting rid of the dirt. He's a tiny man, shorter than I am, with electric blue hair in a tall Mohawk. His skin is extremely pale, literally the color of paper. His eyes are green, his nails painted neon purple. He has lipstick on that matches his nails. His pants are black, but his shirt is dark blue with what looks like neon paint splatters all over it. Despite his upbeat personality, all the bright colors freak me out a bit.

"Did you see her hair getting onto the train? It wasn't like that at the reaping, she must've done it in the Justice building, perhaps she got bored. It was braided up to look like little animal ears, it was adorable," giggles the smallest of my vertically challenged prep team. She's brushing out my hair, about to wash it. Her name is Kiara. She's maybe 4'9", if I had to guess. She's several inches shorter than everyone, and tries to make up for it by wearing enormous heels. I find her to be the most normal looking, with long, almost white hair tied up in a knot on the back of her head. She wears green eye shadow that matches her dress and heels, and a lot of mascara. I can't see any tattoos or gems, but her jewelry is nearly outrageous. She wears a diamond necklace that looks like a bib, one of the ones I've seen on babies. She has tiny holes in her ears with huge lime colored hoops going through them. She has bulky green bracelets going all the way up both arms. It isn't difficult to tell what her favorite color is.

"I'm right here you know," I gripe grumpily. I hate being talked about like I'm not there, and the fact that I'm lying naked, completely exposed on a table doesn't help my mood. "I'll let you all do whatever you want, but what is it that you're doing?"

"Oh, sorry sweetie pie. We're about to wax you all over, make you all smooth and hairless," explains Kiara. I don't like that sound of that. Wax is what candles are made of. What are they going to do with candles and my hair? Wait, all over? Including my head?

"Wait, no! I know I said I'd let you do anything, but I don't want to be bald!" I practically shriek, starting to struggle. Shocked, Celio attempts to hold me down. Adora flutters over, seeming flustered.

"No, no sweetie pie! We're just taking off the body hair, this stuff, not on your head!" Adora placates me, pointing to the soft, orangey hair on my legs. I calm down and stop struggling, allowing them to continue. Adora takes the stuff she was mixing, a thick brown goo, and spreads it on my leg. Celio takes a piece of odd paper and sticks it onto the goo, then glances nervously at me.

"How high is your pain tolerance?" he asks. I put two and two together and brace myself just before he rips all the hair by the roots from that patch of skin.

* * *

"See, now was that so bad?" Adora asks sweetly. I repress the urge to glare at her and smile instead. They had rid me of all body hair, from my legs, arms, underarms, everywhere. And every rip had been ridiculously painful.

"No, it could've been worse. I am in the Hunger Games, I have to get used to pain, don't I?" I lie through my teeth. If this is what I have to go through in the arena, let me lie quickly in the bloodbath. I don't want to feel that ever again.

"Aww, such a trooper!" coos Kiara, mussing up my just dried hair. She seems a bit clueless, giggling all the time and saying ditzy things. But I must admit she's rather cute, like a little pet. The thought of pets reminds me of Fluffers, my bunny, and I start to tear up despite my best efforts. I may never see him again. My poor, precious rabbit may be gone from my sight forever, and I never even said goodbye. Celio notices my tears and pulls a box of tissues from the counter behind him and hands it to me.

"Oh, you poor thing! You must be so nervous, but don't worry! You seem like a strong, smart girl. You really stand a chance!" he encourages me, squeezing my shoulder. His kind words touch me, and I start sobbing. I, who haven't cried since I was 4 years old, since my father died, am bawling over a rabbit and a few short sentences. Clearly these Games have taken a huge toll on me emotionally. Mortified, I take a tissue and wipe at the tears, grateful that they had been arguing over my hair and hadn't gotten to make up yet.

"I-I'm sorry. It's m-my my rabbit. My baby Fluffers," I manage before the weeping over takes me. My team all become flustered and stand me up to give me a group hug, trying to comfort me. I find it a bit, well extremely, awkward because I'm still stark naked, but allow it, sobbing into Adora's shoulder. Finally I calm down and wipe the remaining tears and blow my nose. I think I needed that, I feel much better. My team gives me a few last words of comfort, puts a robe on me, and sits me down to finish prep. Their hands fly, braiding my hair flat against my head and brushing me with silver powder. They put silver eye shadow and black eyeliner, and nude colored lipstick on my face. Kiara brushes on some mascara just as my stylist pops in. She's tall, contrasting starkly with my team, with bright orange hair long enough for her to sit on. She wears a short skirt made of a material I have never seen before, a jacket of the same material, and an orange shirt that looked like silk. Her eyes are a blue that reminds me of Katy, and I fight the urge to start crying again. She has a few orange jewels around her eyes, and wears orange eye shadow with gold eye liner. She trips in, a bounce in her step, and pulls me to my feet. She then dismisses me team, shooing them out, while leading me to an area where we can talk and eat lunch.

"Hi there! My name is Fire; you'll meet my partner Ice tonight. Despite our clear differences, we do balance each other out and make a great team. So, since you're District five, the power district, I was thinking of doing something sparkly and bright, to signify the light that comes from the power you provide. Well, Ice and I were. Does that sound good to you? Because I am sooo excited about this costume!" Fire trills excitedly, seemingly all in one breath. I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm, it's contagious. She's out me at ease already.

"That sounds beautiful, what exactly did you have in mind?" I ask her, grinning.

* * *

"Wow," is all I can think to say. I'm dressed in a very bright costume. It's a silver dress, sleeveless, going down to my ankles. It's very loose, not touching me anywhere. It's made of silver material and completely covered in silver sequins. I have an interesting head piece, a circle with a hole cut out to put my face in with a strap going around my head to hold it in place, also covered in huge silver sequins. It refracts the light, sending beams all over the room. I can't say I like it, but it will probably at least get me noticed, and I'm sure it's right up the Capitolites' alley, which is really what I need. "I love it!" I exclaim. She beams at me, showing her perfect white teeth.

"I knew you would. Now come, let's go, it's time!" she ushers me to the elevator, clearly very excited for the parade. We walk down a hallway and come to the elevator. When it gets to our floor, I take a deep breath and step inside, scared of what awaits me.

**A/N: Well, I finally figured out the whole line break thing, which I think will make my stories better. I hope, at least. Thank you, so much, Amethyst3232, for helping me with the stylist's personality, I was pretty stuck on that. Anyone reading this, go read some of her stories, like Running, she's awesome. I really appreciate the reviews, guys, thank you. I've gotten more attention than some stories that I've seen that are even longer, so you guys make me super happy. Thank you all!**


	6. Tribute Parade

Fire and I meet up with Ina as we were going down to the parade. Ina looks me over, even going so far as to walk around me, and nodds with approval. She commends Fire, saying it was one of the best costumes 5 has had in years, sure to get the Capitolites' attention.

"What should I look like when we get down there?" I ask her, not sure of myself. She looks at me like I've lost my mind.

"Uh, gorgeous, duh," she laughs at her own joke. I roll my eyes at her, no longer intimidated by the tough victor.

"No, I mean my facial expression. Should I act cocky, or fierce, or mysterious, or what?" I try again, hoping she has an answer. She thinks for a second.

"Mysterious. Well, more cool and calculating. Like you're checking out the competition, figuring out who's weak and who's a threat. You think you can pull that off?" I nod, thinking it's perfect. Very close to my real personality and I plan to be studying how the other tributes interact with each other. We make it down below the Remake Center and head over to our chariot. Adam is already there, with a girl who stuns me. She looks almost exactly like Fire, in height and general features. But instead of orange hair, she has icy blue hair. She has blue jewels on her face where Fire has her orange ones. She's wearing an outfit that matches Fire's, but with a blue shirt instead of orange. Her make up consists of icy blue eye shadow and silver eyeliner, with the same thick mascara. She's the exact opposite of Fire, except for her eyes. They're the same blue. It's strange, seeing them side by side. Exactly the same while being exact opposites. I glance over at Adam, whose mouth is hanging open. I look back at the twins and raise my eyebrow, looking at Fire questioningly. Fire giggles, whereas her twin, who must be Ice, smirks at me.

"Did I forget to mention that Ice happens to be my identical twin sister?" asks Fire innocently, even though I know she did it on purpose.

"Oh yeah, just happened to slip on that little detail," I retort, rolling my eyes. This earns another giggle from Fire and a more pronounced smirk from Ice.

"I think I should've gotten this one. Despite her hair," she looks disapprovingly at my red hair, "I think her personality is more suited to me. Mine is too… Happy," she glares halfheartedly at Adam, who laughs at her. I wonder again about the material their skirts and jackets are made out of, and how I had never seen them before. I decided one question at a time.

"What's that material?" I start, pointing at the skirts and jackets. They explain it's called leather. It's from District 10, livestock, and made from cow skin. I wrinkle my nose at that. I don't ever want to wear cows. "Why have I never seen you guys before? I would remember you if you had been on the Games before," I ask my next question. Ice rolls her eyes and turns to her sister.

"Has she been like this the whole time? I take it back, I'm seriously glad I didn't get this one. So curious. We're new, smart one. First year stylists. The last pair got fired after last year's disaster with the atom head pieces falling apart, and we got hired. Now, any more questions?" she glares at me with her icy eyes, and I see where she gets her name from. I glare right back, not saying anything in reply. She looks surprised; I guess her glare intimidates most people, given her look. It doesn't do much to me though, so I smirk cruelly and start looking over the other tributes, putting my calculating look on. I hear Fire and Ice whispering about me, something about being tough. Adam is looking at me in shock. I doubt he could stand up to Ice like that; he seems soft, a bit wimpy. I don't have much respect for him. I start watching the careers. They're all bunched up, talking to each other. It looks like the big one, the male Cato, is showing off his strength, flexing for the girls. Glimmer giggles and blushes, squeezing his arm, while Marvel glares at him and Clove rolls her eyes at the lot. I think I like her the best, although I wouldn't trust any of them, or anyone in the arena for that matter. The District 3 tributes look intimidated by 1 and 2, all but hiding behind their chariot. District 4, who I don't really count as careers this year, are looking around nervously, talking in low voices. I don't view them as much; they might even be bloodbath victims. I glance at the other tributes, but all of them until 11 look pretty much the same as 3 and 4. I check out the 11 tributes. Thresh is holding Rue in one arm, half smiling at some story she's telling him. He probably can't hear her unless she's up closer to his ear like that, especially in this noisy room. She's smiling hugely, laughing at times, talking and making gestures with her hands. I can't hear what she's saying, but she must be enjoying herself with this story telling. I must admit, Rue is adorable. I don't know who could be heartless enough to kill her. Then I look at the 12 tributes, who I'm insanely curious about. They're keeping to themselves, speaking quietly with their mentor and stylists. Their dress is… interesting. Everyone else is pretty customary to normal tribute parade costumes. However, 12 is just in simple black leotards with black head pieces. Katniss has her hair in a braid again. It's odd, but nothing too different. They don't look scared in the least; I can't tell what they're thinking. As I try to figure it out, Ina calls to me. It's time for the parade.

* * *

I absolutely hate the chariot. I don't really like animals, and the horses make me feel uneasy. How do we know what they're going to do, with nobody leading them? And this chariot only has 2 wheels. If one breaks, we're done. We'll go into the arena already injured and at a disadvantage. And maybe it doesn't even need to break, I feel so unsteady in it, I could just fall out! I hear a lot more screaming and think that someone must have fallen out; just as I was afraid I was going to. But then I realize they're screaming names. Katniss and Peeta, District 12. They're costumes were better than normal 12, but not _that_ spectacular. I look up at the screens to see what all the commotion is about, and gasp. Katniss and Peeta are on _fire_! They're literally on fire, their suits are burning. Someone has to save them! And yet… They're both smiling and waving. Katniss even catches a rose and starts blowing kisses at the crowd, and Peeta has a great smile. On top of that, they're holding hands! That's completely different from everyone else, who's ignoring their partner. They're winning over the Capitol people effortlessly. That must be some kind of fake fire, and it's remarkable.

"Wow," Adam says under his breath. I nod in agreement; try to continue smiling a bit. I'm hoping my nervousness doesn't show through. I'm good at manipulating my facial expressions, but this is much more difficult than usual. Finally, our horses come to a stop in front of the mansion and President Snow begins giving his speech. I'm not paying any attention; I'm looking at the screens. Katniss and Peeta take up most of the screen time, especially as they stand out more in the dark. Finally we go to the Training Center, where Adam and I are ambushed. He is commended, told he did very well. Ina comes barreling over to me, glaring.

"What was that, miss 'I can control my emotions'? You looked like a nervous wreck! Like you couldn't wait for it to end! I said cool and calculating, not… That!" she's fuming. I think of an excuse off the top of my head.

"I'm not a fighter, we both know that. If I look too smart, I'll still be a target. Cool and calculating looks clever and smart as well. Nervous looks weak and not intimidating. Not memorable. If I play this right, the tributes will forget about me and I'll get just enough sponsors to stay alive because they're curious about some of the things I do. I know what I'm doing here," I smirk at her, knowing it'll drive her insane. Sure enough, she glares again, but reluctantly nods.

"Not bad. You really are smart, aren't you? We might just have a victor this year," this is the best compliment she knows how to give, and I beam at her. She gives me a half smile and brushes my arm, our agreed gesture for me to follow her. She discovered my only fear yesterday, when she grabbed my arm. She now has a series of bruises on her arm, which I feel bad for, but she wasn't too mad about. I follow her to the elevators, where she presses 5. The elevators are made of something clear, crystal or glass. It's really cool to watch as we rise up to our floor. When we get there, we eat our dinner. Ina, Fire and I at one end, Adam, Kander, and Ice on the other. I see Ice glance at us jealously. After a delicious dinner of… Well, I'm not sure what it was, I didn't ask any questions. But either way, after we finished, Ina sent me to bed, showing me my room.

"Big day, training starts tomorrow. I'll wake you up at 8, and we'll talk training strategy. Sweet dreams, child," she seems almost soft as she says that. I think she's warming up to me.

"Thanks, goodnight," I decide not to be sarcastic tonight. I find a comfy night gown and climb into my fluffy bed. I fall asleep almost immediately, hoping there aren't any nightmares.

**A/N: I'm trying to stay true to the books, rather than the movie, with a few exceptions. Sometimes I use things from the movie. It'll be more like the book once I get to the arena too, there might be stuff from the movie for training. Just wanted to point that out.**


	7. Training, Part 1

**A/N: I was in a writing mood, so I went ahead and wrote the next chapter. And why hold out on my followers if I have the chapter? That's why I'm posting the second chapter the same day. So, I hope you guys like it! If any of you have any ideas for me, feel free (more than free, please do!) tell me, I love hearing ideas from other people. I'm also going to reply to all my reviews (as long as I can) from now on, you guys deserve to know how much I appreciate you all. Enjoy!**

"Up up up! Come on, Miss Fox, up and at 'em!" I groan at the voice. Ina's words are enthusiastic, but they have a sarcastic edge to them. I grumble something that makes no sense, but is loud enough for her to hear. Then I pull the covers up over my head and attempt to fall back asleep.

"Wahhh!" I cry as I tumble to the floor. Then I feel the mattress fall on top of me. I manage to crawl out from under it and hop up, ready to fight. What I find is a much pleased with herself Ina smirking at me, arms crossed.

"I said up," she says sweetly, then laughs. I glare at her as hard as I can, then glance at the clock. She had given me 15 more minutes to sleep. "Better hurry with your shower and changing. Be at breakfast within half an hour," I growl at her and she laughs again, saying something about foxes. I roll my eyes as I get some clothes. I head to the bathroom, slamming the door. I have since learned that the tile closet I discovered on the train is called a shower. Ina found it hilarious when I called it the tile closet, cracking up for at least 5 minutes. I press a button with what looks like raspberries on it. The water smells sweet and slightly tart. I love it, and find a soap setting that matches the scent. I get out, use the dryer thing and get dressed. I make it to breakfast with 5 minutes to spare, getting an approving look from my mentor. I glare at her and sit, still sulking. The stylists show up a minute later, followed by Adam, and finally Kander shows up, clearly sleepy still. I continue to pout and fume through breakfast, still mad about the mattress incident. Ina smirks at me a lot, Fire pouts back, and finally Ice asks the question on everyone's mind.

"Okay, what on Earth is her issue? Actually, what's even her name? Shouldn't I know that?" She asks, glaring weakly at me. I shoot her an angry glance but don't answer.

"She's Foxy, and I bet she's mad that she's gonna get her butt kicked in training today," Adam states, looking smugly at me. I glare at him and his smile wavers.

"Yes, yes, she's attractive, but what's her name? And what's her real issue?" Ice persists. Fire laughs, as do Kander and Ina. I look sullenly at the food I'm diligently devouring.

"Her real name is Aurora, but she looks like a fox so most kids called her Foxy at home. She's just mad at me because I rolled her out of bed and flipped a mattress onto her this morning," everyone gapes at Ina's explanation. I take the chance to glower at her again, then turn back to my eggs and pancakes. "What? She wouldn't get out of bed, and I wanted to test my strength," Nobody questions it further, and we all continue our meals. After breakfast, Kander, Adam, Ina and I all go to the elevators to head down to training. "Remember; don't show all your strengths. Try to learn how to use a few weapons, learn about plants and knots and snares. Anything you possibly can. And try climbing as well," I nod at her. I also plan on examining the tributes further.

* * *

_Man, this is easy. _I think to myself at the edible plants station. I know all of these, and complete the test in record time. The expert is impressed and commends me. I smile and nod and move on. As I head toward the climbing wall, I survey the tributes. Katniss and Peeta are still together at the camouflage station. Katniss looks impressed by Peeta's work. I discreetly look at it, and I must admit, it's amazing. I wonder how he knows how to paint such a realistic tree pattern. I can't imagine there are artists in 12. The Careers are at the weapons station, of course. Cato is showing off with a sword, decimating a dummy. Clove taps his shoulder. He whirls around, furious, ready to kill her. She quickly disarms him and scolds him. I stifle a laugh. I knew he was stupid and impulsive. Thresh is at the knot tying station, learning knots, I assume. I can't quite find Rue. Finally I spot her behind a beam that she's tiny enough to be obscured by. She's watching 12. Apparently she's as interested in them as I am, and I wonder if maybe she'll make an alliance with them. I briefly consider an alliance with her myself, but expel the thought. I refuse to have alliances. It would be too easy for it to come down to the two of us, and I wouldn't be able to kill my alliance partner. I couldn't kill anyone.

I make it to the climbing station and start the course. I'm better at it than I expected, finding the hand and foot holds with ease. I go from the rock wall part to the simulation tree climbing part. This is a bit more challenging, but I figure out a way to scurry up it. I finally make it to the top, but something unexpected happens. I look down, and start to get really dizzy. It feels like everything is spinning. I sit down on the top and stay there for a minute. It passes, and I scramble down. Nobody seems to have noticed that I almost passed out at 30 feet. I'm glad though, and hear the bell for lunch. Maybe I just need some more food.

* * *

I watch 12 closely. I know sometimes district partners are friendly, but this friendly? They spend every minute together, talking and sometimes laughing. Peeta takes all the rolls out of a basket and talks, holding them up one by one. He seems to gesture towards them. I creep a bit closer to listen in. He's talking about the characteristics of bread from District 4. I realize he must be a baker, how else would he know this stuff? That explains his well-fed look and strength. I continue listening to their conversation. Katniss starts talking about being chased by a bear. How on Earth would she have encountered a bear? Then she says it: she hunted 2 squirrels and 4 rabbits that day. She's a hunter. It must be illegal… But she's still a hunter. This knowledge brings all kinds of thoughts to my mind. She knows how to survive. She knows how to find food. She knows how to navigate terrain and find her way through nature. She has firsthand knowledge about edible plants and things of that sort, I'm sure. And worst of all: She can kill. She has to have some sort of weapon to hunt, and what she can use to kill animals she can use to kill humans. She instantly becomes my biggest threat in these Games. She's most likely to become victor. I have to stop her, because if I join her I'm sure to lose.

Katniss Everdeen has become my biggest threat.


	8. Training, Part 2 and the Rooftop

I still have no idea what I'm going to do for my appointment with the Gamemakers. Ina and Fire had no ideas, both shrugging and suggesting something that shows my intelligence. But what could I do for that? Rattle off the random facts I know? Then it hits me: Survival skills. I'm excellent at survival. I can kind of throw a knife… I'll do that first to get their attention. I tried out the huge screen with pictures of plants and roots and berries. I got a lot of them wrong on purpose, but I figured it would give me and idea of what would be in the arena. If the plants I saw were indicative of the arena, I think it might be a woodland, which will be perfect for me. I finalize my plan just as I hear the Capitol lady call "Aurora Goldleaf!"

I walk in slowly, completely silently. I'm stealthy enough that the Gamemakers don't seem to see me. I think another round of drinks just came in. Perfect. I slink over to the knife rack. I choose a light, slim, curved one and grip it in my hand. Then, gathering all my strength, I hurl it at one of the dummies. It misses the target, grazing the head, but it startles the Gamemakers. They didn't realize I had come in. A few almost choke on their drinks and I suppress a smirk at how ironic it would be if one of them died. They quiet down a bit and I walk over to the plant station and press start. I quickly start sorting the plants into edible and poisonous. I had figured out that the average time it took to take this test was 10 minutes, and it changes each time. I complete it in about 4 minutes, earing some respectful glances from the Gamemakers. Since I still have almost 10 minutes, I decide to attempt camouflage. I'm not very good at it, looking more like a green blob than a branch of leaves. Any impressed looks I had left. They murmur amongst themselves for a while then the Head Gamemaker clears his throat and dismisses me. I nod and slink out, just as silent as I had entered. I used the small clean up station right outside the training room to clear off the green a bit, then go upstairs to take a shower. I consider using raspberry scents again, then decide to try something new. There's a button with a little brown dot on it, so I press it, thinking maybe it would be similar to the chocolate. It wasn't, but I liked it even better. It was a delicate sweet scent, and smelled natural like a fruit. I finish the shower and get dried off, and decide to wear a soft green cotton dress.

"Come, Foxy, time for the training scores!" calls Escalanda. I sigh. I hate that nickname. We all gather around the TV, watching the special on the tribute scores. The careers are predictable high, Cato being the highest with a 10. Glimmer is lowest with an 8. Districts 3 and 4 aren't memorable. I get a 6, a pretty decent score for my district. Adam gets a 5, I wonder what he did. I decide not to ask, deciding it's pointless. The rest of the tributes get average scores until 11. Thresh manages a 9, an excellent score. Rue, who I figured would be underestimated, pulls a 7. Everyone is surprised by this. What in Panem could this tiny child have done to get that score? District 12 is even more shocking. Peeta gets an 8, which isn't too shocking given how strong he looks. But Katniss somehow shows up with an 11 underneath her name. Everyone gasps, shocked. Kander sputters, nearly choking on the water he had been drinking. I suppress a smile, thinking of my session with the Gamemakers earlier. Then I start thinking. Katniss got an 11, so clearly she impressed them. The careers can all wield weapons, and she got a better score than even Cato. She must be seriously skilled. I knew she was by biggest threat in the Games. I have to keep an eye on her. On my way back to my room, Adam taps my shoulder. I whirl around and face him, trying not to seem startled.

"Hey, wanna see something?" Adam seems to not notice anything and I notice he looks almost… Cute in his baggy jeans and tight T-shirt. He's not super muscular, but does have some definition from moving machinery in the power factories.

"Sure, alright. Why not?" I follow him to a hidden stair case that he says Fire and Ice showed him. We climb it for what feels like forever. Finally we emerge, and the view is stunning. We must be on the roof, and we can see the entire of the Capitol. I look to my left and see a small, beautiful garden. All kinds of flowers surround a small grassy area, and wind chimes are blowing. They tinkle sweetly, making everything seem that much more surreal. Feeling a bit like a child in a sweet shop, I beam and almost skip over to the garden, lying in the grass. Adam lies beside me with an amused expression. He seems to enjoy my happiness.

"So I'm curious… I didn't even know your real name until the reaping. Does literally everyone call you Foxy?" I shake my head no.

"No, two people didn't. My best friend, Katy, called me Aurora. She said it was too pretty a name not to be used. And my… My mom… Used to call me either Aurie or her nickname for me, Dulce," I nearly start crying again at the talk of my mom. I take deep breaths, trying not to.

"My mother called me Kitten. She called me that because when I was very young I rescued a small kitten. Or tried to. It died soon after I found it of illness, and I was heartbroken. She called me Kitten after that," I giggle at his confession. Maybe Adam isn't half bad. I know I can't get close to anyone in the arena… But I need someone, someone other than hardened Ina or ditzy Fire.

"I rescued a rabbit a few months ago. He was hurt, and I nursed him back to health. He still has trouble moving around sometimes, so I would still feed him. His name was… Was…" again, it is the talk of Fluffers that breaks me. I start sobbing, so uncharacteristic of me. Sometimes, in this place, I wonder who I am now. Adam doesn't appear scared or even surprised. He wraps his arms tightly around me, resting my head on his hard shoulder. I wrap my arms around him and cry into his chest, and I feel his face in my hair. Then I feel the dampness, and know he is crying too. We lay there for what feels like forever, holding each other while we cry. It's cathartic and releasing, and feels so nice. We understand each other; we know what the other is going through. After a while we calm down, dry each other's faces, and just lay next to each other again. After a few minutes of this, Adam awkwardly clears his throat.

"Um, Fox- Aurora. Katy is right, that is too pretty a name not to be used," I smile at him, and he smiles back. "Well, I was wondering… Look, you have a good shot but I really don't. I'm almost sure to die in the arena in a few days. I know that's really blunt, and I know this is probably bad timing but… Well, I've never been kissed. And you're really attractive, and I think you're actually really nice, despite how you act at times, pushing others away. Basically what I'm asking is… Will you kiss me? So I can have that experience at least once before I die?" he looks at me with puppy eyes, pleading. I consider it. Part of me really doesn't want to. Then again, even though I do have a chance, it's not certain I'll survive, and it's doubtful that Adam will. I decide I have nothing to lose.

"Sure. Sure, you're cute enough. Why not?" I smirk playfully and he laughs with relief. We sit up, facing each other, and he cups his hand around the back of my neck. Oh no, no no, I should've warned him. Too late though, he's grabbed me. I freeze, trying to control myself. Before I can hurt him I abruptly stand up and back away, shaking. Adam, looking confused and hurt, tries to follow me. I warn him against it. I curl up in a corner of the garden, shaking. After a minute or two, I feel Adam come up behind me, pull me into his lap. I sit there shaking and whimpering a while longer, but surprisingly I'm calmed by Adam's rocking and murmuring. Finally I settle down and lean against his chest, very tired. He gently tilts my head up to look at him, asking permission with his eyes. I nod very slightly and he leans down, pressing his lips to mine. They're soft and warm and feel very nice. I close my eyes and he deepens the kiss a bit, but nothing too far, nothing to set me off. We break apart and I lean against him again, exhausted.

"Have you been having nightmares?" he asks me, a bit concerned looking. I nod, blushing, embarrassed by it. "Same here. If you want, you could… Sleep in my room with me. Kander told me it's common among tributes, to kiss like this and sleep together. I mean I'm not suggesting… That. But he said innocently too, it helps with nightmares," I hush his babbling by putting my hand over his mouth, smirking at him.

"Yes, I'll sleep in your room. It might help both of us. But we're still not an item, not in an alliance, barely even friends. Friends are dangerous. We're just helping each other, okay?"

"Perfect," he replies, scooping me up and carrying me to his room. Sleep almost over comes me on the way. I have no idea how he manages to carry my down all those stairs, but he does. I guess I don't weigh much. I'm almost asleep by the time we get to his room, so he just takes off my sandals and leaves me in my dress. It's comfortable enough to sleep in. He crawls in the other side after changing into some sweats, and gently takes me in his arms. "Goodnight," he breathes before falling asleep. Both of us sleep peacefully, without dreams of any kind to disturb one of our last nights of safety.

**A/N: I was considering holding out on this chapter, but I'm far too impatient. I really hope this wasn't too OOC for Foxface, I felt like doing something like this. Dulce, by the way, is Spanish for sweet, in case anyone was wondering. Let me know what you think? Also, I should warn my faithful followers/reviewers: I'll either be updating much more or much less frequently. The reason for this is because I suffer from depression. When I'm going through an episode (as I am now), sometimes it's insanely difficult just for me to get out of bed, much less do anything extra. I'm not sure now if writing will help me get through this or make it more difficult for me, only time will tell. So if I seem to almost disappear… I'm sorry, that's why. Someone can just PM me to get my butt back into gear, haha. But it'll be temporary, I promise, I won't abandon this story. I love it too much. If you guys don't like this chapter, too, I'll write a new one a replace it. Thanks to my lovely reviewers, you guys make my day every time you review and brighten my mood a surprising amount. Thank you all.**


	9. Interviews

The first thing I register is that I'm being touched, that arms are around me. Tight, too tight, restraining me, going to hurt me. I immediately panic; I don't have control over myself. Get away, I have to get away, fight, get them off. Hurt, it's going to hurt. I don't fully realize what I'm doing, my mind is fuzzy and all I know is that bad things are going to happen if I don't get away right now. I hear a high pitched sound that I can't place, and don't care enough to, I'm in danger.

"Ouch, Aurora, what the- calm down! You're fine- Ow! Stop- no, hey," the arms that were holding on to me let go and I dart over to the corner of the room, towards the door. I swing it open and hit something hard, bouncing off. The high pitched noise gets louder, more intense. Away, I have to get away. Where? I run to the window and open it, jump out. Out, I have to get out. I don't even get all the way out the window before I'm zapped by some kind of current and thrown back in. I land on my back and get the wind knocked out of me, and the high pitched noise stops. I finally put two and two together; the noise was my screeching.

"What the… What was she doing? What happened?" Someone tries to help me up. I'm beginning to get my breath back, so I make a squeaky sound and try to get away, hitting the other person. They let go and I crawl to the corner of the room, curl up, and start shaking and rocking. I finally take in my surroundings. Adam in sitting on the bed, looking entirely bewildered. Kander is standing where I was a minute ago, looking equally confused, watching me closely. Ina and Escalanda are standing in the doorway; I think they may have just showed up, I'm not sure. They all watch me as I calm down, stop shaking and rocking, and finally stand up. I clear my throat, very embarrassed. I had forgotten how bad my panics were.

"Care to explain what the hell just happened there?" Ina gets right to the point, glaring daggers at me. The others nod and I blush.

"Ina, I did something similar to you the first day, when we were on the train. I'm afraid of being grabbed or restrained, obviously pretty severely. It's a long story…" I start to explain. Adam makes a motion for me to keep going. I take a deep breath and start it. Only Katy and mama know this about me. "When I was young, about 4, my aunt was widowed and came to live with my family and me. When my parents were at work or just left me with her, she would get drunk and… Hurt me. Usually restraining me and hitting me. Or nearly choking me. Or holding my hands behind my back and pulling them upwards until my shoulders almost popped out. You guys get the idea. That's how my dad died. One day he walked in on her trying to choke me, except she was going for the kill this time. My dad stopped her, got her off of me. She… She grabbed a knife and stabbed him. The peacekeepers came and arrested her, I think she was executed. I've been deathly afraid of being restrained since. If it's a short hug, or I'm not entirely in my right mind, like really tired or something, I can handle it. But otherwise, like Adam having his arms around me this morning, it sets me off…" I finally finish my story. The others all stand there with wide eyes, not sure what to do.

"That could make or break you in the arena. Given what I just saw, if someone tries to restrain you, I think you might just kill them. In the right circumstances, at least. Or else you'll curl up like you just did and be killed in a heartbeat. Only time will tell I suppose," muses Ina, ever the practical one. The others just kind of nod. Mortified, I inch toward the door then break out, sprinting to my room. I close and lock the door, then go to find some new clothes. So far, they haven't asked about Adam and I, why his arms were around me in the first place. Adam will probably tell them. I strip and get into the shower, pressing random buttons. I get sprayed with thick, gooey creamy stuff and the water turns off. I stand there, flabbergasted, and the water turns back on and cleans it off by itself. When it's done I'm left smelling slightly salty, but in a good way. It's a very refreshing, clean smell, and my skin and hair are really soft. I decide I like that button.

I get out and use the dryer, and as I get dressed I decide what to do about Adam. Since neither of us had a nightmare last night, we can sleep in the same bed from now on, granted he doesn't wrap both arms around me. We can talk about that. And when we're certain we're completely alone, I suppose we can kiss. It was rather nice and allowed us to forget. However, otherwise, our relationship won't change. We aren't friends, we aren't enemies. We're District partners, and that's it. No more heart-to-hearts, no more playfulness and laughing. It's over. I decide to break it to him sometime before the interviews, so he doesn't say the wrong thing to Caesar.

I go to the breakfast table, where everyone else is already sitting.

"Glad you chose to grace us with your presence, Miss Fox," snaps Ina snidely. This earns a smirk from Ice and giggle from Fire. Kander and Adam ignore her, and I roll my eyes. I sit down and start my breakfast as she starts talking. "Okay, interviews today. You get 8 hours with Fire and I. We'll work on look as well as content. I think it's clear what your angle is: clever and sly. Fire has an amazing look for you that will enhance that. We'll train you on what to say, how to say it, how to look while you say it. You'll be perfect by the end of the night!" Ina actually looks excited. I smile at her and Fire. Maybe this will be fun.

* * *

"These are coming off right now. No, no, no. Never, not in this lifetime. I am _not_ wearing these!" I have had it up to here with these heels. They're "only" four inches, but that's four inches too many for me. Just before I take them off, I feel my ankle starting to twist. I quickly throw myself onto the couch, then glare up at Ina and Fire. They're both stifling laughs.

"I have back up flats… We best go with those," suggests Fire. So far, we've gotten through everything except high heeled shoes. I've exceled at answering questions using my angle, smiling slyly, the right look in my eye. It's just those stupid shoes. "Let's get started on make up," Fire goes to get my prep team. They come bouncing it, ridiculously excited. They chatter amongst themselves, talking about the upcoming interviews, reassuring me. Before long I have soft gold eye shadow on, thin black eyeliner, mascara, and berry colored lipstick. My hair is in long, loose curls. It's side parted and has a short French braid keeping it out of my face. The ends of it meld into the rest of my hair. In a word, I look stunning. Fire walks over with my dress in a garment bag. She giggles and makes me close my eyes. I lift my arms up and allow them to slide the dress onto me. They lead me to the full length mirror and let me open them. I am in shock. It's a long emerald green silk gown, going down to the floor. It has a very thin halter top and is flowy, barely brushing my skin. It has tiny gold sparkles all over it, so when my dress moves it shimmers. Fire gives me emerald green shoes with a gold bow on them. They have a tiny bit of a high heel in them, what Fire calls a kitten heel. They are easily manageable and look amazing. The overall effect takes my breath away. I can't even recognize myself. My prep team gushes over me, then they all whisk me out into the hallway. Adam is there, wearing a dark grey suit with a bright red shirt and black tie. It's very interesting, and it suits him well. I smile at him.

"You look nice," I compliment shyly. He grins at me.

"Look who's talking! I've never seen anyone so beautiful," I smile and thank him, but on the inside I'm frowning. This won't do, we aren't together, not a couple. Not even allies. We can't be anything but acquaintances who help each other until, well, tomorrow. Until we go into the arena. I need to have a talk with him before the interviews.

I ask to take a separate elevator, alone with Adam. He looks confused, yet hopeful, which makes me feel guilty. Escalanda, the mentors, and our stylists frown but decide to let us. They give us instructions and get into an elevator. Another one soon comes and we step in, thankfully alone. I press the right buttons and turn to him.

"We aren't anything," I get right to the point. "We aren't lovers, friends, even allies. We are nothing but two people who have the power to help each other a little bit for a little while. Once we get into the arena, we are enemies. And for now, nobody but our mentors and maybe stylists can know about the kissing and sleeping together. You need to know that, there can't be any lack of clarity here. If we were back in 5, and we had met at school or something and gotten to know each other, things would be very different. However, that's not what happened, this is what happened, and that's the way it is. Okay?" he's staring at me, seeming to accept what I say. Slowly, he nods.

"I remember you saying something like that, the night of the kiss… I didn't realize you meant it so strongly. But you're right, that's how it has to be. We'll have tonight, after the interviews, and that'll be it for us. Thank you for clearing it up," I nod back just as we reach the floor of the interview stage.

* * *

I continue my studies of the tributes. Glimmer has clearly gone for the sexy, provocative angle. She's quite good at it, but there's not much substance to her. Marvel goes for eager; he does decently and is pretty popular. Clove is friendly, but manages to seem a bit fierce at the same time. It's very different from what is usually seen, and she's a crowd favorite. Cato is vicious and bloodthirsty, but I'm not scared by him. I do, however, see the district 3 tributes trembling in fear of him. I zone out for a while, and next thing I know I'm up. I swallow hard and step out onto the stage. I'm blinded by the lights, I can't see the crowd. I can barely make out Fire and Ice in the front row. The clapping is polite but rather quiet. I smile slyly at everyone and sit down across from Caesar, delicately shaking his hand.

"So, Aurora, how do you like the Capitol?" Caesar asks. I smile at him.

"It's rather nice. Certainly interesting. I've been reading a lot of books, ones I can't get back in my district. They have a lot of potentially useful information," this seems to get his attention.

"Oh really? Care to share?" he asks, seeming curious.

"Ah, now why would I want to relinquish my upper hand?" I smile brightly at him, cocking my head to the side a bit, but making my eyes look hard and calculating. He smiles, seeing what I'm doing.

"And what might that upper hand be, aside from your precious books?" he sounds a bit sarcastic while saying this, but I ignore that and shrug a bit.

"I'm versatile. I can mold myself to any situation and I can think on my feet. I can always think of a plan," I do my best to stay vague, not give too much away. The crowd, who I can see now, seems to be watching me intently. After a few more questions, the buzzer rings and I'm dismissed.

"Miss Aurora Goldleaf, everyone!" Caesar calls to the audience and they cheer for me, a pretty decent cheer too. I smile a tiny bit and scurry off stage. All the other interviews, including Adam's, are boring until, of course, 11. Rue looks absolutely adorable in her light blue gossamer gown. Her stylist is a genius, putting small, delicate wings on the back of her dress. She appears to float to the chair and gives the sweetest, most heartbreaking answers I think I've ever heard. Nobody wants to see this tiny child get slaughtered in the Games. Thresh looks as intimidating as usual, in a brown suit, giving one word answers and occasional glares. He looks scary and deadly, someone I do not want to cross in the arena. Then, Katniss comes out. Her dress is made of gem stones and shines very brightly, refracting light all over the room. It appears to be in a flame pattern. Her hair is curled and she has minimal make up on. She looks absolutely gorgeous. She starts talking about food, then her clothes. Not very interesting. Then, she starts twirling. It looks like flames are lapping at the bottom of her dress, enveloping her. The effect is mesmerizing. Her stylist makes Rue's look like an amateur. She's giggling, enjoying herself, and hangs onto Caesar to get her balance back. She sits back down, and Caesar asks about her sister. Katniss goes completely serious, stony, and fierce looking. Like the competitor who got an 11 in training scores. She tells about her sister, and their last interaction. Then the buzzer goes off and Peeta comes up to the stage. He and Caesar joke around for a while, back and forth. Peeta is charming, nice, and very funny. After making the crowd laugh for a while, Caesar asks about girls. Peeta is hesitant, saying there was one girl, but winning wouldn't help him. Then he says the most shocking thing I think in Hunger Games history.

"Because… Because… She came here with me."

**A/N: This took several days to finish, when I could concentrate. I tried really hard to do it. I decided, after pretty much everyone said to keep that last chapter, to keep it. I'm glad everyone liked it. And thank you, those of you who reached out to me. That meant a lot, and did help me. Does anyone think I'm moving too slowly and putting too much detail in? I don't want to skip over anything; Foxface seems like one to pay attention to everything. Tell me what you guys think. Thank you, to anyone who's reading this, special thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are awesome!**


	10. Arena Day 1

I have to admit, it's extremely relaxing laying next to Adam in bed. We aren't doing anything, save for occasionally kissing or making out to distract ourselves from the anxiety, but it still just feels nice. He's very warm and has one arm wrapped around me loosely, which doesn't freak me out. I know I can get out easily should I need to. I'm trying to make my breathing seem even so it looks like I'm asleep, but I don't think it matters. I'm pretty sure Adam beat me to it.

"Hey, you up?" oh, I guess he's not asleep. I shift to my side so that I'm facing him.

"No, of course not. I'll be surprised if I sleep at all tonight," I notice he's crying. "What's wrong?" I wipe at his tears, not entirely sure what to do. I've never been good with crying.

"I'm going to die tomorrow," Adams states simply, his voice surprisingly steady. "I know I will, I'm sure they'll get me in the blood bath. Maybe I'll be the first to go. And 12… They may have stolen sponsors that could've been yours. Who wouldn't want to sponsor them? Gorgeous, clearly talented, and now unforgettable! I want you to win, to survive, to live. You deserve it, you need it. Please, try, try hard. For me, once I'm gone," he starts silently sobbing. I'm bewildered, not sure what to do.

"I will, I promise. Now, hush. I'll be fine, I'll win it for us," I refuse to lie to him, tell him he'll make it out. He's not particularly strong, can't use weapons, is completely clueless about survival, and he honestly just isn't very smart. Still, he's upset and with me, and I can only think of one way to calm him down. I kiss him lightly. He kisses me back, slowly stopping crying. When he's calmed down, we go back to being side by side on our backs, his arm around me. He quickly falls asleep, but I don't. I think about Peeta's proclamation of love. It seemed genuine on his part but on hers… I'm not so sure. She was blushing, but maybe not out of love. It'll be interesting to see whether or not they'll ally in the arena. Eventually I drift off to sleep, having nightmares about my aunt killing me in the arena.

* * *

"Oh, I didn't realize how hard this would be!" Fire is crying, hugging me. Apparently she's gotten attached. I hug her back.

"You were the best stylist I could've asked for. Thank you, so much. Hopefully I'll see you again in a few weeks," she nods and lets me go, dabbing at her eyes and nose with a tissue.

"It's just... What if you don't? I knew there was a possibility of my tributes dying when I took this job... But I didn't understnad the possibility of attachment..." She trails off as she brushes my hair. I sigh.

"Listen to me. I'm going to try my absolute hardest to win. I'm quiet, I'm smart, and I'm good at survival. I'll wait it out, then throw a knife at the last person standing. It'll be easy. Well, maybe not easy, but I'll be able to do it. Now, calm down. You'll see me in a few weeks," I attempt to reassure her. "And by the way, you're the best stylist I could've possibly asked for. You're amazing, and you've made plain old me look stunning. That's some feat. Thank you, so much," This starts Fire sobbing again, so that she can't answer. I give her a long, tight hug before I step back into the glass tube. As the glass sheet covers me, Fire waves and blows a kiss at me. I wave and smile, and it lifts me up.

I get to the top and the count down starts. The golden cornucopia stands in front of me, enormous, with all the good stuff at the mouth. I look around me. There's a field with grass taller than I am on one side, a forest on the other. Near the grass there's a decent sized lake. I have to stay away from it, I can't swim. 40, 39, 38… I have to think of a plan. I look around me. A few feet in front of me there's a small backpack. Beyond that, there's a larger pack with a knife right next to it. I'm a fast runner. I'll grab those and clear out. That's my plan. 15, 14, 13… I position myself, getting ready to run. I have to get there as quickly as possible. 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1 DING! The gong sounds and I take off. I grab both packs and the knife and quickly turn around, bee lining for the forest. A poorly thrown spear lands next to me, and I don't even look at it. When I reach the edge of the forest, I irrationally look behind me. I see Adam, holding a spear, looking around frantically. I try to catch his eye, wave for him to follow me. Just as he sees me and starts towards me, I see a sword go through him. He falls, and I see the wide-eyed male from 4 standing with the bloody sword. As he stands there in shock, Cato spears him and takes away his sword. I swallow hard and keep running, away from the bloodbath, away from the fights, away. I'm trying not to cry, trying not to think. Just running away as fast as I can.

When I finally feel I've gotten far enough away from the cornucopia, I sit down to rest. Panting, I open up the bigger pack. It has a sleeping bag, a decent pack of dried fruit, and a small canteen. I lift it and am surprised to find it's filled. I wouldn't have expected that, but I'm glad for it. I take a tiny sip, not wanting to use up too much. The bigger pack also has some iodine tablets, rope and dried beef. I look in the smaller pack. More iodine tablets, an empty water skin, crackers, and some strange glasses. Thinking they're sunglasses, I put them on. They make everything look blurry and strange, so I take them off. They must be for something else. I decide I'm not particularly hungry and stand up, determined to find water. I start walking in a slightly different direction than I had been heading, singing a song to myself as I go.

At nightfall, I decide to try and make camp. I attempt to climb a tree, but when I get high I get really dizzy again. Afraid I'll fall out, I make my way carefully back down. I walk a while farther and see a tree with enormous roots that jut out of the ground really high. They're high and wide enough for me to even sit up in. Grinning, I start trying to fill the cracks with leaves. It's here that my hair is a detriment. Being bright red, it's too easy for others to see it. Since it's getting cold out I quickly take it out of its ponytail, braid it, and put the hood of my jacket up. That'll keep it concealed for the night at least. I finally finish the camouflage and crawl in my little cave. Like a fox's den, I think to myself bitterly. Will I ever outgrow that nickname? I hear the anthem and peek out of my shelter. The screen is in the sky, showing us who died that day. I know there are 11 from the cannons earlier. The first is the girl from 3, then the boy from 4. Then Adam. At Adam, I start crying a bit, the tears blurring the screen. I stop in time to see the girl from 10, then the anthem stops and the screen goes to black. So 11 and 12 are all still alive. I crawl back into my den and curl up in my sleeping bag. It's starting to get really cold, I'm glad I went for the bigger pack as well. I toss and turn for a few hours, then finally drift into an anxious, restless sleep, seeing Adam's death over and over again.

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated! I had an insane week, I honestly just didn't have time. And it's not even that great a chapter :( I might redo it at some point, depending on how you guys take it. Don't be afraid to tell me it's not that good, I really want constructive criticism! Just let me know. I'll try to get some chapters up ASAP, I'll probably update a lot more right around Christmas, when I'll have nothing to do haha. Anyhow, I'm sorry, I hope this chapter isn't too much of a disappointment. Thank you, everyone who reads and super thank you to reviewers!**


	11. Arena Day 2

In the morning, I try to figure out what to do. I decide I had best stalk one of the most prominent predators. I could try for Katniss, but she honestly scares me. Besides that, I have no earthly idea where in this arena she is. I think: Where would any of them be? Then it hits me: The careers would stay close to the cornucopia, so they wouldn't have to transport the supplies far. I gather all my stuff and head out for the Cornucopia. I'll try to come back to my den tonight. As I hike, I look around for water. I don't see any, but I have some, and I remember there being a lake near where I'm going. After several hours of hiking, I reach my destination. The careers are nowhere to be seen, but I can hear them a ways behind me. I quickly dart to the Cornucopia, running to the very back. There's some kind of panel in the horn of it, and I move it aside. There's plenty of room for me to hide, and even several peek holes. I can basically see all around me without being noticed. This is excellent. I watch and listen carefully as the Careers come back, and I'm surprised that they have the District 4 girl with them. I would've thought they'd have killed her like Cato did to the boy who killed Adam. Even more surprising is the male that seems to have taken that boy's place. Peeta is near the rear, trotting to keep up with them. I'm shocked, I was sure he and Katniss would've teamed up. The whole love confession must have been an act, a strategy to gain sponsors. And yet, I think sponsors can switch teams during the Games. Maybe he's leading the Careers off her scent? Maybe they planned it? I'm honestly not sure.

They search around for anyone, but only I can see the small boy from District 3 following them. He's surprisingly quiet. He goes over to one of the round disks the players stand on initially and starts digging furiously. I watch him, enthralled. After a minute or so, he comes up with one of the deactivated mines. Taking it, he starts over towards the Careers. Oh, this child is dead. Cato will kill him in a second. As he gets closer, Glimmer sees him. She picks up her knife and raises it to stab him when he yells "Wait! I can help you!" this gets Cato's attention.

"How in Panem could _you_ help _us_?" he sneers cruelly. The District 3 boy holds his ground, although he's shaking a bit. He holds up his mine.

"I know how to reactivate these. I worked in the explosives factory, and I would sneak into meetings, pretending to be a refreshment waiter or something. I went in there enough times to know a lot about every explosive in the country, including these. If we stack up the supplies, which you guys will have to do, I can reactivate these and put them all around the goods. Then I'll teach you guys the path to get to them, they'll be completely safe," Cato seems to consider this plan. Then he snaps his fingers and orders everyone to work.

About 2 hours later, everything is set up. The supplies are stacked up and I have memorized the path to get to them, thanks to my perfect view of the lessons. It looks difficult, but even ditzy Glimmer can manage it, so I feel certain I can. Finally, the Careers lay down to sleep, the 3 boy keeping guard. After a few minutes, I pull out my knife and slink out of the Cornucopia. The new "guard" doesn't even see me until I'm right in front of him, all but threatening him with my weapon. "You let me take what I like, I let you live. Deal?" I bargain with him. I wouldn't actually kill him, but he doesn't know that. He gulps and nods, backing away slowly at first, then nearly running. He clearly thinks I'm going to blow up the mines and take the careers out with me. I smirk to myself, then make my way to what I remember as the starting point. I go through the little dance in my head before starting. It only takes a few seconds before I'm in the middle of the safe circle, among everything I could possibly need. I take fruit, some medicine, dried beef, crackers, and a water bottle. Not enough of anything to allow them to notice, but enough for my survival. I do the dance to get back out, nod to the District 3 boy, and run silently back out to the forest. I make it to my den, which is still intact, and dive into it. I eat some beef, a few crackers, and a few pieces of fruit. Finally I sip some water and curl up to sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, it's a bit difficult to breathe. I quickly pack up and scramble out of my little den. I look to my left and see a huge wall of flames coming out of the treetops, with smoke reaching far enough to force a fit of coughing out of me. I don't think it'll move any further towards me, it seems Gamemaker formed, but I start running the opposite direction anyhow. Better safe than sorry. The direction I'm headed happens to be the same direction as the Cornucopia. It's more difficult than I expected, running through the woods. First of all, it's not at all flat. There are rocks and roots and uneven ground you can trip on and twist your ankles on. Also, there are leaves and things on the ground. I do my best to stay silent, but even I am making some noise trying to get away as quickly as possible. And then there are the trees and branches. I'm trying to weave in between trees and avoid branches as I try to keep my footing and remain silent. And the branches are scratching my arms and face while bushes, some with I think thorns on them, try and scratch at my legs. I can feel the tiny cuts and have to ignore them and try to not get any new ones. All while moving as fast as possible. Any one thing I can do with ease. Putting all of them together is nearly impossible, and it's seriously frustrating me. If I can't even run in the woods, how much of a chance do I really have?

When I reach the edge of the woods I stop and look around. I don't see the Careers anywhere, they must be hunting. The District 3 boy is there, but I don't view him as a threat. I retrieve my knife and walk about, holding it up and allowing him to see it. "Are they here?" I ask. He frantically shakes his head, staring at the knife, holding up his spear. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I can throw this. Look, I don't want to hurt you. You're a scared little kid using the Careers for protection. I get it. Do as I say and neither of us will get caught and nobody will get hurt. Understand?" he nods his head and steps aside. I start over for the pile and tell him to go to the other side of it. He follows my directions and I take what I want. Some bandages and alcohol for the scrapes I received running through the woods, some more water, and a jar of brown creamy stuff that smells like nuts. I then silently make my way out of the trap and go to my hiding spot in the Cornucopia. I treat my slight wounds and sip some water, eat some fruit and the nut cream. I try to think of what to do. I figure my little niche here is probably the safest place to be here. To my knowledge, I'm the only one who knows where it is. It's encased in metal, so I'm pretty well protected. I think the seeing holes are placed so that any potential rain can't get in. I have food and water and the scratches are all cleaned up as best they can be. Coming up with nothing else, I sit in the corner and think. First, I think about the Careers. Glimmer I don't think will last long. She seems a bit airheaded and ditzy to me, although that could've been a pretense. Marvel I can't really tell, but he just doesn't seem big enough and skilled enough to come out a victor, given the other tributes. Cato is big, skilled, bloodthirsty, vicious… and impulsive. That's what will end up getting him, I'm sure. He's not particularly smart and doesn't think things through. The District 4 girl, well she's bigger than some of the ones from the outlying districts, but she's really nothing special at all. I never even bothered learning her name. Clove, however, sticks out to me. Her eyes are nearly as cool and calculating as mine, and I've seen her with her knives. She's as deadly, if not more so, as Cato but seems more intelligent, at least less impulsive. She's the threat in that group, I think. But then there's Katniss. Despite Peeta's betrayal, I feel certain she's a significant threat. She's lasted this long, and I think she can probably hunt. She's extremely skilled in _something_, I just don't know what. She is strong, lean, and has the look of someone who can fend for herself. Ignoring 11, who are as threatening to me as Clove, I'm terrified of Katniss Everdeen. And suddenly, I know I've been fooling myself. All of that earlier confidence, the reassurances to Fire and Adam, it was all a lie to them and myself. I built myself up to try and convince myself I could win. And I did it because if I didn't do that, I wouldn't have survived this long. I know I don't stand much of a chance in these Games. It'll probably either be Katniss, Clove, or Rue who wins. Rue seems smart, I've seen her climbing ability, and I'm sure she knows about food from being in the agriculture district. She'll also by underestimated by the Careers, unlike Thresh. Thresh will be a target for his size and his refusal to join the Careers during training. I saw the angered look written all over Cato's face. The real competitors here are Clove, Rue, Katniss, and to an extent me. I can only hope that the odds decide to turn in my favor.

The Careers never make it back to camp that night, and I fall asleep wondering where in Panem they could be.

**A/N: I'm sorry I've been terrible about updating lately. It's been difficult to concentrate, especially with the holidays and such. It took me 5 sit downs to finish this chapter, and it isn't even my longest. I'll try to be better in the future, and I'll also be better about replying to all my reviews. I swear I read and appreciate every single one, it honestly makes my day when I read a new review. To all my steady readers/reviewers, thank you, you guys are what keeps me motivated to continue this story. I hope you guys like this one okay. Happy Holidays! :)**


	12. Arena Day 3

**A/N: Yeah, so much for being better. About any of it. I'm sorry, guys. I've been struggling with some things, and my fanfic has kind of gone to the bottom of my priority list. Thank you, Saphira/akcanine, for reviewing and reminding me I needed to update this. Should I ever forget or ignore again, that's all it takes to remind me. Thank you to my faithful readers/reviewers. You guys help keep me going.**

When I wake up I hear screaming, then splashes, one after the other. I immediately sit up and grab my knife. On hyper alert, I peek out the hole that looks over the lake. I see a few of the careers pulling themselves out of the lake, stumbling a bit, then collapsing. They appear to be unconscious, but they still make sounds and twitch, as if they're in pain. I watch for close to an hour, but they just continue that way. I can't figure out what's wrong with them, maybe they're trying to fake me out. Maybe they're fine but know I'm here. Maybe they want to pull me out, want to hurt me, want to kill me, want to make me their slave until the end…

"Tracker Jackers," I am pulled out of my paranoid thoughts by the D3 boy's voice. "I know you're around here somewhere. And you're probably scared. Those are Tracker Jacker stings. They're out for at least a few days, you're safe. And I have my eyes closed, I won't find your hiding spot," I look around, through all my holes. I find him near the pile, and sure enough his eyes are closed. I sneak out of the Cornucopia and next to him.

"You can open your eyes now," he jumps a mile and I can't help but laugh. I go over to the Careers and inspect them. They have huge, orange sized purple bumps on their bodies. There are stingers sticking out of them, so I don't doubt what the boy said. They must be going through the awful nightmares now, a symptom of the venom. All that's left of the pack are Clove, Cato, and Marvel. Glimmer, Peeta, and the D4 girl are all gone, maybe they're dead. I turn to the boy. "Were there cannons?" he nods at me.

"Two, I don't know for who though. My guess would be Aqua and Peeta. I have no clue where Glimmer is, but she was pretty strong. I'll be surprised if she died," I nod and look at him oddly. He looks at me oddly back.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?" I ask. He bursts out laughing.

"Blunt, much? Because you've never hurt me, despite all your chances. I don't think you really want to. I don't trust you exactly, but I'm not entirely terrified of you like I am them. You want to get some food?" I think for a second. This is extremely unorthodox behavior. However, I don't really mind it, and as long as I keep an eye on him I see no harm in it. I follow him over to the pile. He dances his way to the center and starts to toss me stuff. This is incredibly risky, given the mines, but I know I can catch all of them. It isn't until he tried to toss me two apples that I get scared. I catch one easily, but the other was tossed a bit short. It glances off my fingers before I can catch it. I gasp as a hand grabs it just before it hits the ground. The D3 boy sighs, then grins at me. "That was close," I nod in agreement. We sit down and eat our lunch, seeing as it looks to be close to 11 or noon. The boy tries to make small talk, but I just nod. I don't do small talk. As soon as we finish, I stand up.

"Look, we aren't allies. But you have helped me. I'm going to go spy on Katniss. I'll let you know what I find out," I inform him. He nods.

"Alright, be careful. She's scary," I walk off without another word. I have a lot of hiking to do.

It takes me three hours to find any kind of clue. It was much, much quicker than I expected. There was some crushed grass near a spring, and a bunch of broken trees and branches and foot prints nearby. I follow that all the way to a huge tree. I find a downed nest of some sort with a ton of footprints and what looks like an extinguished fire. I see a ton of broken branches and scratched bark going in a random direction. There's a similar trail going in another direction. I look at the two. One has a blood trail as well, drips on the ground and a few smears on trees. The blood honestly scares me a bit, so I decide to try the first one. I start off, not going on the trail exactly but staying to the side a bit. A few times I almost lose it, but I always find a few scratches that allow me to continue in the right direction. A few more hours later, and I hear rustling. I immediately scale the nearest tree. Scanning the area, I see a figure tossing and turning in some kind of large, shallow hole. I have no idea what on Earth could've made a hole like that, I've never seen anything like it. I climb down and climb a tree a bit closer. I see that it's Katniss, and she's thrashing around like the Careers. Just as I realize she was stung too, I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I look and see black, super curly hair bouncing along. Rue. She goes over, pours a bit of water in Katniss' mouth, looks around, then covers her with leaves. She then sneaks off, all with hardly a sound. I knew that girl was smart.

Since it's late evening by this point, I decide to just sleep in the tree. I eat some more nut cream and an apple, then settle down. I notice that not once have I gotten dizzy in the trees this time. I don't know why, but I'm thankful for it. As I'm pondering this I hear the anthem and look at the sky. The first face is Glimmer. I am shocked and nearly fall out of the tree. Next comes Aqua, as the boy called her. The anthem ends and the sky goes dark. I curl up further in my sleeping bag. Peeta's alive, Glimmer's not. I slowly drift to sleep, pondering when might've happened.


End file.
